Abstract

School dropout is a critical issue globally, impacting educational justice and leading to adverse effects on employment, lifetime wages, and physical health. Efforts to combat student disengagement include the development of an intelligent tutoring system (ITS), aimed at identifying and addressing instances where students lose interest in tasks, ultimately addressing the complex challenge of school dropout through technology-driven interventions. It is difficult to predict disengagement on a trial-by-trial basis, especially in complicated cognitive areas. In order to identify the risk of school disengagement among vulnerable secondary school pupils, the MyBuddymobile application was created as a smart classifier. The functioning engine of MyBuddyis translated from a computational model made up of fourteen predictors for the four primary entities of student, family, school, and environment. The application employs advanced mathematical models to assess data and generate risk scores, which indicate the probability of student dropout. The recent technical assessment of MyBuddy, conducted by 27 experts using seven measurement metrics, has yielded positive results affirming the application's overall interactivity. However, the assessment also pinpointed specific areas where enhancements are warranted. Notably, improvements are needed in the clarity of error messages and notifications, responsiveness of touch gestures, and the clarity of icons and labels within MyBuddy. This insight provides a clear roadmap for refining MyBuddy, ensuring that these identified aspects are enhanced to further elevate the application's user experience and overall effectiveness. MyBuddyprovides a centralized platform for accessing and analyzing combined data from multiple schools, enabling the identification of patterns, trends, and systemic issues contributing to dropout rates. It seeks to bring a transformation in dropout prevention and promote a more inclusive and fair education system in Kedah, Malaysia, aligning with the fourth Sustainable Development Goal that strives to ensure quality education for all.